Chinese
Anti-Secession Law Is Disturbing the Status Quo in the Taiwan
Strait

Chinese
Anti-Secession Law Is Disturbing the Status Quo in the Taiwan
Strait

Background:

On December 29, 2004 the Standing
Committee of the Chinese National People’s Congress voted to
submit a new Anti-Secession Law to the full Congress (which will
convene on March 5, 2005.) The law mandates a military attack on
Taiwan if Taiwan formally declares independence. The law echoes
the provisions of a Defense Policy White Paper that Beijing
released two days earlier in which it threatens to “crush”
Taiwan if the island declares independence, and that it is the
“sacred responsibility” of the PRC army to stop Taiwan from
“splitting the country.”

Cross-Strait Balance:

The Anti-Secession Law initiative is
an extremely provocative move by China which will permanently
destroy the balance in the Taiwan Strait. The law needs to be
stopped in its tracks. Why?

Enacting the law is a dangerous step
which is not conducive to the creation of a healthy environment
for the resumption of cross-Strait dialogue. The initiative not
only constitutes another unilateral attempt by China to change
the status quo, it dangerously enhances tension in the region.

By enacting the Anti-Secession Law,
China seeks to define its ties with Taiwan on its own terms and
the law would undermine other countries’ support for Taiwan
under the pretext that these countries would be meddling in
China's domestic affairs. This would strip the United States as
well of its right to protect Taiwan’s security and U.S.
strategic interests in the region.

Furthermore, through the
Anti-Secession Law, China seeks to forge a legal basis for its
plans to launch a military attack against Taiwan. The fact that
the Chinese Defense White Paper was released simultaneously
underscores China’s intention to solve its differences with
Taiwan by military force.

The “Taiwan Relations Act,”a U.S.
domestic law which has regulated the U.S.-Taiwan relationship
since 1979, specifically states that the U.S. decision to
establish diplomatic relations with China in 1979 rests upon the
expectation that the future of Taiwan will be determined by
peaceful means; and that the U.S. considers any effort to
determine the future of Taiwan by other than peaceful means a
threat to the peace and security of the Western Pacific area and
of grave concern to the U.S.

Moreover, under the Anti-Secession
Law, Taiwan would be considered a part of Chinese territory. Any
action contributing to Taiwan independence would be a punishable
crime. This would entail that -for instance- Taiwanese
businessmen operating on the mainland would run the risk of
being jailed for their support of Taiwan. Overall, China’s
ability to wildly interpret and enforce the law will seriously
jeopardize the human rights of the people of Taiwan.

Conclusion:

The United States should
STRONGLY OPPOSE China’s Anti-Secession Law, for it not only
constitutes an extremely provocative move which will heighten
the already tense situation in the Taiwan Strait, it also
directly challenges current US policy that there should be no
unilateral attempt to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait
and that the cross-Strait relationship should be determined by
peaceful means.